The reinvention of a traditional peasant shoe by a young Swiss company could deliver the most eco-friendly, and the warmest, shoes ever. Based on the traditional Russian felted sheep’s wool footwear, or valenki, the new line of footwear from Baabuk offers warm and functional shoes and slippers made from the simplest of materials – 100% wool for the body of the shoe, and recycled tires for the soles. It’s tough to find truly eco-friendly shoes that are not only built…

We’re probably fairly aware of at least some of the issues that people in the developing world face, including limited (or no) access to clean water, as well as lack of sanitary facilities for going to the bathroom or washing up afterward. But unless you’re a woman, chances are you aren’t aware of another pressing issue that can have serious health ramifications for many women across the world, and that is the lack of adequate sanitary feminine hygiene products for…

Shoes, by their very nature of bearing all of our weight and being the buffer between our tender feet and the hard surfaces of the world, get worn out, many times much sooner than we’d like them to. And for the most part, they just end up as one more item filling up the dump (or landfill, if you prefer that kinder, gentler, term), because by the time we’re ready to let them go, they really aren’t suited to being…

Many times, the clothes we wear (and pay top dollar for) are made by people that are just barely able to get by financially. And because many of those people are women supporting themselves and their families, buying clothing from companies that choose to pay a livable wage can have a big impact in the world, while not costing the customer much more than standard sweatshop apparel would. A new project from entrepreneur Sacha Nana aims to not only produce…

Patagonia has been leading the way in responsible business practices, from encouraging their customers to buy less to increasing the transparency of their supply chain, and now they’re taking it a step further by also directly supporting fair trade in their clothing lines. Beginning in the fall of 2014, Patagonia will be offering Fair Trade Certified™ apparel, starting with nine styles, and with any luck, expanding that through customer demand. “For every Fair Trade Certified product Patagonia sells, the company…